Yesterday we talked about not wasting food. A big key to that is learning how to freeze. It's not a skill that many of us grew up with, and there are some tricks that you need to know to make it work successfully.

First of all, you'll want to make sure that you work under sanitary conditions and use wraps or containers that will prevent air & moisture contact or loss from the food. Always thaw items in the refrigerator and not at room temperature.

Your freezer should be at 0 degrees F or lower. Freezers are actually more efficient when they are packed with frozen food. However, you won't want to load up your freezer with lots of room temperature food at once. When freezing, allow your items to have some space around them - they will cool faster. Once frozen, pack items close together.

VEGETABLES

You'll need to blanch veggies before you freeze them. This would involve quickly boiling or steaming them, plunging them into ice water, and then draining them completely before freezing. Learn more, including appropriate blanching times for each vegetable.

Fruits & veggies can be frozen for 6-12 months.

MEATS

A big trick here is that you should never re-freeze a meat that has been thawed. If you bought meat at the grocery and then decided to freeze it. Later thawed it and still didn't get around to cooking it, you should not re-freeze. Cook it, then freeze it, if necessary. Meats can be frozen for 6-12 months. Cured meats should be used within a month or two.

FISH

Wrap tightly. Store up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator.

WHAT NOT TO FREEZE

There are some things you just shouldn't freeze because it's not going to turn out well:

Potatoes, sour cream, cream cheese, fried foods, cooked pasta/no sauce, lettuce, parsley, celery, radishes, cream/custard fillings, mayonnaise, cheese or crumb casserole toppings, cooked egg whites.

Also, you'll never want to put a can in the freezer. Or an egg in the shell for that matter. We're talking explosion and a very messy situation here!

Rebecca says: There are really a lot of great resources out there (listed below), and I recommend that you browse through them. They provide many more details than I can do today. I didn't even touch on freezing prepared food like breads, cakes, cookies, soups, casseroles and more. It can be done, however, and could prove to be a great time saver for you and your family. Plus, it's a great way to make sure the food doesn't go to waste!

Resources:

National Center for Food Preservation: How Do I Freeze?

About.com: Freezing Tips

SFGate.com: The Chill Factor

FoodSafety.gov: Chill